


Familiar (from the Latin familia, meaning ‘household, family’)

by DiNovia



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Small Town, F/F, Kara is not a Danvers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-25 16:05:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17124479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiNovia/pseuds/DiNovia
Summary: For Atlantisairlock's prompt: no powers au, small town au (maybe coffeeshop au?)There isn't a coffee shop, but there are a pizza place and a tapas restaurant, so hopefully, that makes up for it.Cat Grant, a former rising star trauma surgeon in Boston, now a country doctor and single mother in Kirby, NH, meets Kara Zoren, rising star doctoral student studying with Eliza Danvers, the preeminent expert in medical robotics at MIT and Kirby community matriarch.Sparks fly. Kara does not. ;)





	Familiar (from the Latin familia, meaning ‘household, family’)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [atlantisairlock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlantisairlock/gifts).



“Mother, how many times do I have to say it?” Cat Grant marched down the hallway and into the kitchen at the back of her three-story Victorian. She yanked the fridge door open and blindly grabbed a bottled water, which she then shook like a baton to punctuate her next words. “Carter and I are not coming to Rome for Christmas. Period.”

 _“But Kitty, why not?”_ bleated Katherine Grant, voice crackling over the miles between them. _“The sunsets here are sumptuous - I know you’d adore them. And it would do Carter a world of good to get out of that backwater little village of yours. Think of the culture! He’ll only be young once.”_ She paused a beat, then tossed a maternal hand grenade into the mix. _“I’m lonely, Kitty,”_ she said, and Cat could hear the pout in her mother’s voice.

“You’re not lonely, Mother; you’re bored. You want someone to play with, someone to impress while you’re waiting for all your jet-setting friends.” Cat balanced the phone on her shoulder while she twisted the cap off her water. After a healthy swig, she added, “And don’t bother trying to tell me you’re celebrating alone this year. _Entertainment Tonight_ has already done two different segments on that enormous yacht you’ve booked for your Tiberian holiday river cruise.”

 _“Kitteeeeee--”_ said Katherine, but Cat cut her off mid-whine.

“I said no, Mother.” Cat sighed, hating this conversation every bit as much as she hated the one she’d had with Katherine this time last year and the year before that. Katherine Grant, world-famous film star and member of the Hollywood elite, had a hard time taking no for an answer. “You know I have to work.”

 _“You can’t close that one-room schoolhouse of a doctor’s office for two weeks?”_ countered Katherine, angry now. _“It’s as if you care about those country bumpkins and their snotty noses more than you care about me.”_

“You know that isn’t true, Mother,” said Cat tersely. “But I can’t just pick up on a whim and--”

“Cat? Cat, are you here?” came an urgent-sounding voice from the front of the house and Cat felt a rush of relief untie the knots in her muscles.

“Mother, I have to go,” she said. “I have a patient.”

_“Kitty, wait--”_

“I’ll call you later,” said Cat, and she hung up on her mother. It wasn’t the first time she’d done it nor, she knew, would it be the last. She left the phone and the bottle of water on the granite countertop and headed to the front of the house. “Sorry,” she apologized to the owner of the voice. “I was on the--” Whatever else she was planning to say evaporated when she saw the tableau laid out before her.

Eliza Danvers, esteemed professor at MIT and Kirby community matriarch, stood in Cat’s parlor/waiting room. Her foot tapped like a piston on the Berber carpet and she held a blue and white gingham tea towel to the forehead of a blonde woman Cat had never seen before. Smudges of dried blood darkened on the younger woman’s cheek and speckled the lenses of her black-rimmed glasses. When Eliza saw Cat, her eyes fell closed.

“Thank god you’re here,” she said.

“Come through to the exam room,” Cat said, switching immediately into provider mode. “And take off your coats. It looks like this will take a few minutes.”

She led the way down the short hall to the house’s former dining room and slid the pocket doors open. Gesturing for Eliza and the woman to head to the examination table in the center of the room, she detoured to a hook on the wall and slipped her white coat over jeans and a gray turtleneck. After pulling on a pair of nitrile gloves, she joined them at the table and nodded to the tea towel. “May I?”

Eliza relinquished the soiled cloth and Cat gently peeled it away from the young woman’s forehead, grimacing when she saw the injury beneath it.

“Well, that’s a nasty gash all right,” she said, dropping the towel onto the paper sanitation barrier next to the young woman’s knees. She probed the still-oozing wound and it gaped open a little, showing jagged edges and mangled tissue. Hissing under her breath, she asked: “What on earth happened?”

The young woman snorted. “I believe you would say I ‘zigged’ when I should have ‘zagged,’” she said, smiling despite her predicament. Her light accent - German if Cat wasn’t mistaken - certainly confirmed she wasn’t from around here.

“It’s bruising now, too! Oh, this is terrible!” cried Eliza. “Kara, I’m so sorry - this is just awful. I should have salted the walk before we left the house--”

Cat chuckled. “Slow down before you hurt yourself, Eliza,” she said. “One patient at a time, remember?” When the distressed professor quieted, Cat looked back at her patient. “Kara?” she asked, thinking the pretty name suited her charge. “Why don’t you tell me what happened.”

“It was nothing, Doctor. An accident - nothing more.”

A frown rumpled the tiny spot between Cat’s eyes. “Humor me,” she said.

Kara’s cheeks pinked and she averted her eyes. “So embarrassing,” she muttered. Finally, she looked up and squared her shoulders resignedly. “As Dr. Danvers and I were leaving her house to run errands, I slipped on a patch of ice at the bottom of the steps, slid off the sidewalk, and pitched head-first into the trunk of the large tree at the front of the house.”

“That old hackberry by the lamp post?” asked Cat, looking over her shoulder at Eliza. Better to keep the conversation moving than to allow the inappropriate giggle lodged in her chest to rise to the surface. Her patient was already embarrassed enough as it was.

“Yes! That damnable tree.” Eliza began to pace. “I’m going to cut the godforsaken thing down tomorrow--”

“Don’t you dare!” snapped both Cat and Kara at the same time. Their eyes met in surprise for a moment, then Cat deferred to the younger woman. “You first.”

“I… It’s a beautiful tree and it did nothing wrong. I would hate for it to be destroyed on my account.”

Cat nodded. “It _is_ a beautiful tree,” she agreed. “One that’s been in Eliza’s front yard for nearing a century if I’m not mistaken.” She smirked at Eliza, then asked innocently, “Cutting it down would mean asking permission from the Kirby Arbor Society, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh god!” said Eliza, blanching as white as Cat’s coat. “Nevermind. The less contact I have with old Mr. Dodson, the better.” She turned to Kara and explained. “He was one of my high school science teachers. He disapproved of my interest in biomedical engineering and whenever he sees me, he makes sure to remind me I could have done better.”

“Better than an internationally-renowned expert in artificial intelligence and medical robotics?” asked Kara. She began to frown, grunting softly when the movement caused her pain. “What would he have preferred you to study?” she asked.

Cat and Eliza locked eyes. One smiled with gleeful schadenfreude while the other scrunched her face into a knot. “Trees,” they said together.

After a beat, all three women laughed. Then Eliza’s phone began to beep.

“Oh, god - the train! In all the commotion, I forgot.” She switched off the reminder notification and looked up at Kara, torn. “I hate to leave you like this but--”

Kara flapped a hand at her. “You cannot be late, Eliza,” she said. “Alex is expecting you. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Eliza checked her phone for messages, but there were none. “I tell you what - I’ll pick up Alex and Maggie and we’ll come straight back here. We’ll wait for you--”

“You’ll do no such thing,” said Kara sternly. “Go to dinner as you planned. I’ll find my way back to the house when I’m finished. Your plans with your daughter and her partner shouldn’t be derailed just because I was.”

“You’re an angel,” said Eliza gratefully, leaning in to give Kara a quick peck on the cheek. “Really. I mean it.” She checked the time on her phone and frowned, clearly still feeling guilty. “Cat, call me if you need me to pick her up--”

“Go!” said Cat, shaking her head tolerantly at Eliza. “I’m sure Kara and I have enough gray matter between us to figure out how to return her to your house. You’re only what? Two miles down the road?”

“Closer to three,” said Eliza, smirking.

“Three?” said Cat, feigning shock. “Well, that puts a wrench into things, doesn’t it? We’ll never make it _three_ miles down the road.”

Eliza buttoned up her coat and reset her scarf around her neck. “I’m going now. Take care of her, will you? Kara is the best doctoral student I’ve ever had. In fact, MIT made her an offer this week, but it hinges on that brilliant mind of hers remaining intact.” She sighed. “If that tree scrambled your egg,” she said to Kara, “I really will cut it down - old Mr. Dodson’s approval or not.”

Kara chuckled. “My ‘egg’ is fine, Eliza. You’re going to be late. Go.”

Eliza fished her car keys out of her pocket. “I’ll see you later,” she called from the hallway.

As the professor’s footsteps faded down the porch steps, Cat frowned at Kara. “She has a point, you know. Before I get to work cleaning and stitching that cut, I should check your neuro function.”

“Stitching?” asked Kara, eyes going wide.

Cat chuckled. “Sorry. Old habit.” She pulled supplies from various cabinets and drawers, then washed her hands. “We use something akin to super glue for less serious injuries now. Doesn’t scar as much - though I promise, if needed, my sewing skills are top notch.” She pushed a procedure tray next to the head of the exam table. “Shall we check to see if Humpty Dumpty’s scrambled before I start putting her back together again?”

Kara laughed.

After she finished the test, Cat knew precisely three things about Kara: she had the warmest hands Cat had ever held, her eyes were the color of a wide prairie sky, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with her that a little antiseptic and a few drops of Dermabond wouldn’t cure. Thank goodness.

Once she had Kara lying comfortably on the table, Cat apologized for the pain she was about to inflict. Then she began the tedious process of cleaning the wound, deciding a distraction was in order as soon as she saw Kara’s forehead begin to wrinkle with distress.

“So Eliza said MIT had made you a offer?” she prompted.

“Oh. Yes.” Kara kept her eyes closed but her forehead smoothed slightly. “Providing I defend my dissertation successfully, of course. The NIH is interested in my research. They want to give me a grant, but in order to do so, I have to have a lab of my own. MIT has offered to give me that lab.”

Cat’s eyes went wide. “Wouldn’t that mean being brought on as faculty there?” When Kara answered in the affirmative, Cat’s eyebrows rose high on her forehead. “Count me duly impressed,” she said, slipping on her magnification glasses. “May I ask what you’re researching?”

“The feasibility of using swarms of coordinated micro-robotic drones in certain surgical procedures, for example, in excising cancerous tumors previously ruled inoperable due to their location or complexity.”

“Like the nanoprobes from Star Trek?” asked Cat, grinning as she leaned forward to inspect the wound for debris. Kara’s eyes snapped open. “I had no idea we were so close to developing that technology.”

“Very much like them, yes,” said Kara. “I was inspired by them as a child in boarding school. I thought we should not have to wait so far in the future for something so useful today.”

Satisfied there were no remnants of bark embedded in Kara’s skin, Cat removed the magnifiers and readied the antiseptic wash. “Close your eyes, Kara,” she whispered. “This will sting. I’m sorry.”

Kara squeezed her eyes shut. “I have only myself to blame, Doctor,” she said. “Please proceed.”

Cat nodded and poured the liquid into the wound. Kara hissed as it fizzed, and Cat dove back into their earlier conversation hoping it would continue to provide a distraction as she worked.

“Boarding school?” she asked.

Kara went very still on the table and, for a while, the only sound in the room was the faint pop of the peroxide bubbles around the edges of Kara’s injury. Finally, she nodded. “In Switzerland,” she said quietly. “My parents died in an airplane accident when I was twelve years old.” She kept her eyes closed as she told the rest. “The uncle tasked with my upbringing in their stead did not think he would be an able caregiver, so, for three-quarters of the year, I stayed at boarding school. In the summers, Jann and I traveled.” She laughed but it seemed tinted with sadness. “He was fun and funny, too. The life of every party - and there were many of those.”

“Was?” asked Cat gently. She dried Kara’s wound, then opened the sealed package containing the Dermabond pen.

Kara nodded. “Jann died two years ago. A stroke, they think. He was skiing with friends in St. Moritz.”

Cat squeezed Kara’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Kara.”  

“He died doing something he loved with friends he had known most of his life. Samuel, his favorite friend, was the one to call me at school to let me know what happened. He was so afraid I would blame him, blame all of them, but where’s the good in that? Jann was happy and loved. He wasn’t alone when he died. That’s all that matters.”

“What a wonderful way to remember him.” Cat smiled sadly as she began applying the purple liquid. “He must have been proud of you.”

“I like to think so,” said Kara, opening her eyes. “What about you, Doctor? What made you start a medical practice out of your home, deep in the New Hampshire wilderness?”

“It’s my father’s, actually,” said Cat. “Or was. The home and the practice both - though I admit to a few renovations here and there. The kitchen, for instance, was a nightmare when I moved in. Bachelor men don’t understand the beauty or the importance of a good kitchen.”

Kara laughed. “I never saw Jann cook one thing. I would imagine tea would have been too complicated.” Then she sobered. “Your father passed away?”

Cat nodded and glanced at her watch, still holding the edges of Kara’s injury together as the medical glue set. “Thirteen years ago this past fall,” she said. “I was living in Boston at the time - always working, never at home. Come to think of it, you could hardly call it living.” Her mouth twisted with a thin frown. “I was in trauma at Beth Israel, climbing a very competitive ladder. My father’s heart attack was a wake-up call for me. I realized I was doing things I thought I _should_ do. I’d never taken the time to question whether or not they were things I wanted to do.”

“But your father’s passing forced you to take the time.”

Cat nodded. “I took two weeks off for his funeral and came up here. I met his friends, his patients, the people of Kirby. I learned how vital he was to the town’s existence, how respected, how happy he had been. Every story began with my father smiling or laughing.” Sighing, she tested the Dermabond seal, pleased. “I was going to clean out the house, to sell it. Then I found my father’s journals. I stayed up all night one night reading them. There was a lot in them I didn’t know. Mostly about how content he was - much more so than I was.” Cat smiled wistfully. “I went back to Boston at the end of the two weeks, quit my job, ended a relationship that was going nowhere and moved here, taking over where my father left off. A year later, I had Carter.”

“Carter?” asked Kara.

“My son.”

As if summoned by the mention of his name, Carter arrived heralded by thundering footfalls and the slamming of the front door.

“Mom, I’m home!” he called.

Cat rolled her eyes. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment?”

“Certainly,” said Kara and she watched as Cat went to the pocket doors of the exam room, stripping off the purple gloves as she went.

A gangly young man with big brown eyes looked into the room as his mother spoke to him quietly. He was dressed in ski togs with a bright red stocking cap. Sand-colored curls peeked out from beneath it. He nodded at Cat when she suggested he go to the back of the house for a snack.

“Sorry for interrupting,” he said to Kara from the doorway, looking at the floor. Then he disappeared down the hall.

“He’s usually a little less boisterous,” said Cat, apologizing as she washed her hands. “He was just out sledding with his friends. They seem to have cornered the market on both adrenaline and testosterone this year. They’re all so loud!”

She came back to the exam table with an adhesive bandage and placed it over Kara’s gash, sealing it with gentle pressure. “There,” she said, letting the younger woman know it was safe to sit up. “All patched up. You’ll have to keep it dry for a week - that means putting Saran wrap over it when you shower and not using any sort of moisturizer cream near it. Come back the day after tomorrow and I’ll check it for you… change the bandage, make sure it’s healing okay. Say, four-thirty?”

Kara nodded and hopped down from the table, retrieving her coat and scarf. “How much do I owe you, Doctor?” she asked as she reached into her pocket.

“It’s Cat - Cat Grant,” said Cat and she reached out to shake Kara’s hand, thinking a late introduction was better than none. “And you don’t owe me a thing. I’m glad I was here to help.”

“Kara Zoren,” said Kara, smiling but shaking her head as she took Cat’s hand. “At least let me cover the cost of the… ‘super glue,’ I think you called it? You should be compensated for your work.”

“I tell you what,” said Cat as she walked Kara to the front of the house. “I promised Eliza I’d get you home but I never said when. Tonight is pizza night down at Buck’s and Carter and I were planning to go. Since you’re missing dinner with Eliza and Alex, join us instead. Buy me a glass of wine and we’ll call it even.”

Kara hesitated though the promise of such a pleasant change of plans was compelling. “I wouldn’t be intruding?”

Cat laughed. “Carter will inhale half the pizza in three minutes flat, then will be off in the corner playing video games with his friends. It’ll be nice to have an adult conversation for once.”

“If you’re sure, then yes, I will join you,” said Kara, smiling.

Cat shucked out of her white coat and locked the front door, flipping a little hand-painted sign in the window from ‘open’ to ‘closed.’ “Now that that’s settled, come to the kitchen while we get ready to go. It’s more comfortable.”

As they walked through to the back of the house, Kara noticed the energy in their surroundings change subtly. The impersonal one-size-fits-all welcome of the parlor transformed into a vibrant, honey-touched homeyness. Kara felt it settle into her skin like a warm embrace from someone familiar to her. The sensation was slightly disconcerting.

Cat gestured to one of the stools at the granite island.

“Have a seat,” she said, scooping her phone up off the counter and checking it for messages absently before returning her attention to Kara. “Help yourself to anything you need. There’s bottled water and fruit in the fridge. We’ll only be a few minutes.” Then she ducked back into the hallway. A moment later, Kara heard Cat ascend the stairway they’d passed, calling for Carter as she went.

Instead of sitting, Kara opted for a brief tour, drawn to the family room by the glow of a dying fire in the large fireplace at the end of the room. Orange light flickered across a solid wall of books and Kara stretched her hand out, letting her fingertips caress the spines as she walked past them. She recognized some of the titles, having read them herself at one time or another. An errant daydream of Cat Grant curled up in the corner of one of the sofas, reading while a fire crackled beside her, made Kara smile for some reason.

She was still smiling when Carter found her a few moments later.

“Hi,” he said, and Kara jumped, almost dropping the copy of Pratchett’s _Equal Rites_ she’d pulled off the shelf, overjoyed at having found an old friend in the forest of books around her.

“Um, Mom said she’d be right down.” He flicked his gaze over his shoulder, then looked back at Kara. “I’m Carter,” he added, holding out his hand. He nodded at the book she held. “Discworld fan?”

“Kara,” she said, grinning as she shook his hand. “And oh yes! Terry Pratchett is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read and re-read so many of his books. You too?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” said Carter. “Though my mom’s the one that got me into his stuff. Douglas Adams, too. You know him?”

“Of course! Ford and Arthur kept me company one entire winter break when I was fourteen. I even tried to make a Pangalactic Gargleblaster out of frozen pineapple juice and some cooking sherry I found in the kitchen of my school.” She laughed and blushed at the same time, shaking her head. “It was terrible!”

“Eurgh!” said Carter, squinching up his face. “Gross!”

“Indeed,” agreed Cat, joining them. She’d changed into a pair of elegant black slacks and a cranberry turtleneck. A fine gold chain around her neck gleamed in the firelight. “And while I love to see nerds bonding in the wild, we should go. Buck’s is always busy on pizza night.” She winked at Kara. “I’ll tell you _my_ recipe for the Gargleblaster on the way. I promise it’s more palatable than pineapple juice and cooking sherry.”

Kara nodded, voice stolen and eyes wide. Her belly danced with butterflies but she had no idea if it was Cat’s change of wardrobe, the wink, or knowing Cat had her own recipe for the ultimate nerd drink.

She thought it might be all three.

\---

Carter fulfilled his mother’s prophecy almost to the letter except the arcade in the corner became more interesting than his pepperoni and mushroom with extra cheese long before he’d eaten half of it. Kara heard his friends’ brief shout of welcome over the restaurant’s pop music and smiled, watching wistfully as he melted seamlessly into the group. When she turned back to the table, she noticed Cat’s curious gaze.

“I never fit in like that at his age,” she explained. “Back then, those of us who were different - nerds, as you say - were left to our books or our instruments. Whatever it was that had made us different in the first place.” She picked at her salad. “We tried to form groups of our own but it was never as easy for us as it looked for the others.”

“When I was his age, I was in the chess club _and_ on the cheerleading squad. I didn’t fit in with either group and they made sure to remind me of that fact whenever they had the chance.” Cat shrugged elegantly, but her smile was wan. “That probably had as much to do with my mother as it did with me. It’s always…” She took a moment to search for the right word. “...challenging to be the child of a celebrity in such a public setting.”

Kara frowned. “Celebrity?”

Cat almost laughed out loud. If Kara didn’t know who Cat’s mother was, she was the only one in the room. Or the whole town, for that matter.

“My mother is Katherine Grant.”

The declaration landed with all the grace of a brick hitting the floor.

“I… see,” said Kara, but clearly she didn’t.

“You have no idea who she is, do you?” asked Cat, her smile small but her eyes alight. Before Kara could answer, she added another thought under her breath. “And I thought you were attractive before…”

Out of an abundance of self-preservation, Kara pretended not to hear that. “I’m sorry,” she said, shrugging helplessly.

Cat shook her head, her shoulder-length flaxen waves swaying with the movement. “Please, don’t be. I forget that not all people are consumed by the goings on in Hollywood.” She took a sip of her wine. “I won’t bore you with the details tonight, but feel free to look her up. She spells her version of Katharine with a K. The only thing she kept of her real name.”

As intriguing as Kara found this information, she also sensed the door on the topic had closed. She made a mental note to check Google when she returned to Eliza’s.

“Tell me about your time in Boston,” she said instead. “I spend all my time in labs staring into microscopes. I would love to see the city through your eyes.”

Charmed by the request, Cat spent the next hour telling Kara all about Boston’s iconic locales and those few quirky gems she’d discovered during her time there. Kara soaked it all in as the two of them slowly devoured their shared gorgonzola, pear, and walnut pizza, a concoction Buck sarcastically called “The Land of Fruits and Nuts.”

“Do you miss it?” Kara asked. “Boston, I mean. It’s so different than Kirby.”

Cat shook her head. “No, I don’t. The convenience of public transportation, maybe. A few of the art museums. A restaurant or two… but the crowds, the urgency, the feeling of being constantly plugged in and on call? No.” She tossed back the last sip of wine in her glass. “I can always visit when the urge strikes.”

“Are there bad memories?” asked Kara, fiddling with her fork. “You said you’d ended a relationship there…”

Cat wondered for a moment if Kara was being coy, but dismissed the thought instantly. The younger woman was too earnest and, frankly, too German for games.

“Not at all,” she said lightly. “I think I always knew Lois and I weren’t going to be a long-term thing. She’s a journalist with a permanent seat at White House press briefings. She’s happily married to her work.” Cat played with the stem of her empty wine glass. “What we had was fun and uncomplicated - which is what we were both looking for at the time.”

Kara felt like she had accidentally walked off a precipice at the top of Mount Fuji. The air felt crisp and clean and so thin. The sound of her heartbeat in her ears drowned out the clatter and chatter of the restaurant around her and her skin prickled with suspicions confirmed. In that desperately short period of time between the small, bright flare of hope and the suffocating sensibility of her rational brain kicking in, Kara asked the first question that came to mind.

“What - if anything - are you looking for now?”

A brilliant if enigmatic smile touched Cat’s lips.

“I can’t speak for Lois, obviously,” she said, eyes dancing, “but I’d like more time with you. If you’re interested, that is…”

Kara nodded too quickly, then laughed at herself, blushing bright pink as she stared at the table. “I am,” she said finally, looking at Cat with forthright azure eyes. “Very.”

\---

The spectre of dinner alone with Cat Grant proved to be a devastating distraction. Kara had brought the first draft of her dissertation with her to Eliza’s, hoping to edit it between obligatory sightseeing outings and awkward family dinners. That had been the deal: Kara got to edit her dissertation with unfettered access to her advisor over the holiday break while Eliza got the buffer she needed to keep her on her best behavior while meeting the woman her daughter was calling ‘The One.’ Apparently, it was a feat she didn’t think she could manage by herself.

Kara began Thursday with good intentions, opting to stay home from a shopping trip in the valley so she could slash her way through the first five chapters. Instead, she spent most of the day staring out the guest bedroom window at the snowy landscape, remembering Cat’s soft touch on her forehead in the exam room and her warm smiles at their dinner at Buck’s, remembering the sound of her laughter and the way her honey-colored hair moved when she shook her head.

Hours passed in that glorious haze and Eliza calling her for dinner startled Kara deeply. She hadn’t heard the women return home from their shopping trip, let alone begin preparing a meal.

Friday, Kara joined Eliza, Alex, and Maggie in town for lunch at the local Italian restaurant, Pomodoro's. After a decadent bowl of mushroom risotto and an espresso cannoli, Kara asked if there was a wine shop nearby. The four of them walked a few blocks to a little storefront called Cask & Vine where Kara bought seven bottles, six for Eliza’s New Year’s Eve open house - to which, it seemed, the entire town had been invited. The seventh was meant to be a gift for Cat but Kara saw no need to share that bit of information. All three of her companions smiled at her tolerantly.

That afternoon, Eliza, blue eyes dancing, dropped Kara at Cat’s door for her appointment.

“Have fun at dinner!” she called, waving as she drove off.

Kara waved back, then tromped up the porch stairs. The front door opened just as she raised her hand to knock.

“I saw Dr. Danvers drop you off,” said Carter, holding the door for her. He looked freshly scrubbed and slightly more formal than Kara thought was normal for him, with his neatly pressed blue flannel shirt tucked into jeans that looked brand new.

“Thanks,” said Kara, stepping through to the waiting room. She gestured at his outfit. “Are you going out with your friends tonight?”

Carter’s cheeks shaded pink and he grinned. “Um… just one. Daisy. She was at Buck’s the other night. We’re going to the movies.”

Kara thought back to the knot of friends at the arcade and remembered a young woman in a red tartan deerstalker who’d never seemed to be more than a step away from the young man the entire night.

“Long, dark hair?” she asked. “Pretty smile?” Carter blushed even harder and Kara was happy she’d guessed right. “She’s a lucky girl.”

“I’ll tell Mom you’re here,” blurted Carter, having reached his limit of teasing. “She’s just finishing up with Mrs. Yo - um - I mean, another patient.” He took off down the hall, leaving Kara standing in the center of the parlor, still bundled up in her coat and scarf, with a bright blue stocking cap pulled tightly over her long, blonde curls. She nestled the bottle of wine in the crook of one arm and tried to keep from fidgeting. The marrow in her bones fizzed with nerves and excitement both.

A moment later, she heard the pocket doors of the exam room slide open.

“Promise me you’ll call me if this new medication doesn’t work, Jane,” said Cat. “I know the holidays are stressful, but you shouldn’t have to suffer through them. We’ll find something that works.”

An older woman with short salt-and-pepper hair and round, black glasses grasped Cat’s hand gratefully. “Thank you, Doctor,” she sighed. “I’ll let you know.” She pulled on a pair of leather gloves and glanced at Kara, her eyebrow rising at the sight of the wine. She smirked. “Have a good night,” she said as she slipped out the door, and Kara wondered if she’d imagined the woman’s sing-song tone.

Before Cat could greet Kara though, Carter, hovering around the front door, coat in hand, grinned when another set of lights cut across the window. “Mom, Daisy and her dad are here. Is it okay if I just go out to the car?”

Cat glanced through the parlor’s front window and waved at Mr. Baalad and his daughter. Daisy waved back excitedly while Mr. Baalad, seemingly a little overwhelmed, stared at his daughter with a sad little smile on his round face.

Cat knew the feeling. Even chaperoned, it was Carter’s first date, and Cat hadn’t realized how emotional the occasion would be until just that moment. She felt herself go a little misty but ruthlessly clamped down on the feeling, not wanting to embarrass her son.

“Go ahead,” she said, ruffling his mop of curls before he pulled his hat on over them. “Be respectful to both Daisy and her father and have fun, okay?”

Carter glanced at Kara, then grinned. “You too, Mom,” he said, winking cheekily before he darted out the door.

Cat shook her head and waited until she heard the car pull away before she turned back to her last patient of the day.

“Kara,” said Cat, welcoming the younger woman with a warm smile and a light kiss to her cheek. “I apologize for the chaos. Take off that hat and come through to the exam room. I want to see how that cut is doing. It won’t take long.”

Kara did as directed, heart beating like thunder in her chest. She could still feel the soft press of Cat’s lips on her skin. The sensation was altogether dizzying yet drenched in such unbelievable serenity, such confidence it almost felt like something Cat had done a thousand times before. Kara stood for a moment in the parlor to catch her breath.

When she finally entered the exam room, Cat was washing her hands. “Have a seat,” she instructed, and if she noticed Kara’s discomfiture, she did not mention it. “I’ll be right there.”

Kara sat on the exam table still bundled up in her coat, the paper barrier crinkling beneath her. She held the bottle of wine awkwardly by its neck.

“What are they seeing?” she asked, trying to calm her nerves with a bit of small talk.

“Carter and Daisy? ‘Mary Poppins Returns,’” said Cat and Kara heard the smile in her voice. “Not a bad choice for a first date, I think. Fun and light… and a little magic never hurts.” Cat dried her hands, then turned around, stopping when she saw the bottle Kara held. “For me?” she asked.

“You wouldn’t let me buy you a glass at Buck’s,” replied Kara. “This is what I owe - with interest.” Kara’s eyes twinkled with the double entendre.

Cat took the gift with a slightly wolfish grin but ended up chuckling when she looked at it properly. “Someone down at Cask & Vine’s been talking too much, I see,” she said.

Kara blushed. “Eve said it was your favorite.”

Cat stashed it on the counter. “You shouldn’t have, but I tell you what - I’ll accept your gift if you’ll promise to help me drink it. You’re staying in Kirby through the holidays, aren't you?”

“Eliza and I return to Boston on the sixth.”

“Excellent,” said Cat. “Then we have plenty of time.” She reached out to brush Kara’s hair away from her forehead. “Now, let me see how well this cut is healing.”

She tugged the bandage away from Kara’s skin, wincing when it caught and she had to pull harder than she would have preferred.

“I’m sorry, Kara,” she apologized, but she smiled when the wound was revealed. “Well, that looks better.” She handed Kara a small mirror so she could see the progress. The bruises were still dark and angry-looking, but the cut itself seemed smaller and less concerning. “I think the bruises will fade in a few days,” said Cat. “In the meantime, keep it covered while the edges are still coming together. You might scar in the end, but I don’t think it will be too obvious.”

Cat stroked the healthy area around the bruise with her thumb, then turned to get a fresh bandage. “Are you experiencing any pain with it?” she asked Kara. “Or headaches? Anything like that?”

It took Kara a moment to figure out how to breathe again, but when she did, she said, “No. The bruises only hurt if I touch them, which I’ve stopped doing. The cut sometimes itches, but I try to ignore it.” Kara shrugged. “I hardly remember it’s there.”

Of course, all of that was a lie. Kara did try to ignore the itching, but she failed often, thinking it would take superhuman willpower to keep from scratching, something she decidedly did not have. She did her best to confine herself to the area outside the bandage, hoping for some relief, but even that was difficult. And as for forgetting it was there, well, that was a lost cause. Every time she thought of Cat, she remembered exactly what had brought them together.

“Good,” said Cat. She returned to Kara’s side and settled the new bandage in place, her touch feather light. “There. All done.”

Looking down at Kara, Cat found they were close - too close - and her gaze flicked to Kara’s lips, petal pink and parted slightly and pleading to be kissed. She felt physically pulled toward them, her blood buzzing in her ears, but then she caught herself and stepped purposefully away from Kara, shattering the moment.

The exam room in the private practice she ran out of her home was definitely not the place for this.

“We have reservations,” she said instead, her pulse pounding in her throat. “I should go change if we’re going to make them on time.”

Kara nodded slowly. “I’ll wait,” she said and immediately felt stupid for saying it. Of course, she would wait. Where would she go? Besides that, Kara was certain Cat had just almost kissed her. Forget where; the question now was why would she go?

The answer was she wouldn’t.

\---

Cat Grant wanted to be sensually elegant on this, her first real date in ages. She didn’t just want the little black dress she’d unearthed from the back of her closet to turn heads, she wanted it to knock Kara Zoren on her ass. She’d been fantasizing about it all day - catching Kara staring at a bit of thigh revealed or feeling those bluer than blue eyes watching the sway of her hips.

And Kara’s reaction hadn’t disappointed Cat in the least. Flushed and flustered after the host had taken Cat’s coat, Kara had almost knocked Cat’s chair over in the rush to pull it out for her.

It was just that - in all that daydreaming - Cat hadn’t thought much about what Kara might be wearing underneath _her_ coat and scarf. Something appropriately dressy, of course. Something blue, like her hat, to bring out her eyes, perhaps, or maybe a diamond pendant at her throat, classic and refined.

Cat hadn’t expected the snow white button-down tucked into pleated wool pants, black as ink, and she certainly hadn’t expected a pair of Y-backed pinstripe suspenders, edged so fine they looked as if they could cut. Kara’s honeyed hair fell in gentle curls around her shoulders and the bandage on her forehead made her look a little rakish, a little dangerous. Then she fiddled with her glasses as she took her seat, adding the essence of innocence to all that raw sexuality. The effect on Cat was instantaneous and all-consuming.

She struggled to remember the mechanics of basic respiration and asked, “Wine?”

It was the only thing she could think of to say and she thought it sounded hollow and ridiculous, but Kara nodded just the same.

“Yes, please,” she whispered, and Cat motioned to one of the servers.

“Dr. Grant?”

“The Buró 2012, Andrew,” she said, not looking at him, and Andrew nodded once before hurrying away.

Their table was tucked in a quiet corner of the little tapas restaurant, pressed against a plate-glass window overlooking the snowy park across the street. A candle flickered in the center of it, casting bright clones of its flame onto the wide bowls of two wine glasses. Silence stretched between them.

“Distract me,” said Cat finally.

“From?” asked Kara, clearly confused. Only the two of them existed in the whole world as far as she was concerned. Their waiter hadn’t even brought their menus yet.

“From all the thoughts swirling in my head when I look at you.” Cat ran a finger around the rim of her empty glass and looked at Kara with a lustrous, fire-kissed intensity.

Kara’s smile, though small, seemed pleased - almost preening. “What kind of thoughts?” she asked, her voice low and husky. She held Cat’s gaze and raised a single eyebrow in challenge.

The arousal that had been simmering low in Cat’s belly all day nearly boiled over with Kara’s question. Again, she’d been caught off guard, having made assumptions about the younger woman that simply weren’t holding true. Kara’s tendency toward a demure rosiness of cheek belied a preference for honesty and directness that, frankly, Cat should have expected. She was a scientist and an engineer, after all.

“That coming out tonight was a mistake,” said Cat softly, choosing to be bold in response to Kara’s fearlessness. “That I should have cooked for you at home where I wouldn’t have to share you.” She let her eyes slide down the line the suspenders made from Kara’s throat to her waistline then nodded at them. “That those would look even more attractive pushed down around your hips as I undressed you.”

“Your wine, Dr. Grant,” said Andrew, returning to the table to show Cat the bottle she’d ordered. Cat held Kara’s gaze for a few seconds longer, then broke it to speak to him. Kara interrupted.

“We’re not staying,” she said, and both Cat and Andrew looked at her blankly. “There’s been an emergency,” she added, tapping Cat’s phone where it lay on the table. “We have to go.” The urgency in her steps as she headed to the front of the restaurant to retrieve her and Cat’s coats surprised Andrew.

“Of course, Dr. Grant,” he said hesitantly, his young face sobering with concern. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

Cat stood when Kara returned and slipped into her waiting coat. “I won’t know until I get there,” she said solemnly, dropping her phone into her pocket. She pulled a twenty from her wallet and handed it to the young man. “Thank you for everything.”

Then Kara snatched her hand up, tugging her out of the restaurant and into the night.

\---

They stumbled into the darkened parlor of Cat’s house, clutching at one another, Kara’s lips laying a scalding trail of kisses along the column of Cat’s throat.

“Is this what you want, Kara?” breathed Cat, winding her fingers in Kara’s golden hair to pull her closer. “Are you sure?”

Kara wrenched her mouth from its loving work and pinned Cat with a darkening gaze. “I want everything I saw in your eyes tonight,” she said fiercely. “Everything you shared with me and everything you left unsaid.”

Cat reached up and cupped Kara’s cheek in her palm. “Then take me to bed,” she whispered.

Kara swept Cat up the stairs like every dashing hero in every romance novel ever written and Cat, eager to lavish Kara with the attention she so richly deserved, undressed her just as she promised, pushing those suspenders off her shoulders and unbuttoning each pearl button on her shirt with exquisite care.

Expecting delicacies, Cat found a banquet instead, and when she’d devoured Kara and all she offered, it was Kara’s turn to feast. And feast she did, leaving Cat boneless and sated in a hazy cloud of warmth and affection.

Later, they drowsed together in the center of Cat’s bed, tangled up in one another’s arms. Kara snored softly, buzzing like a garden full of pollen-drunk bees while Cat traced abstract shapes on the hills and planes of her belly.

Then that belly growled.

Cat chuckled and kissed it tenderly, looking up into Kara’s sleepy eyes.

“Wait here,” she said softly, extracting herself from Kara’s embrace. “I’ll be right back.”

Kara reached for her but missed and her hand fell to the bed with a thump. “Don’t stay away long,” she said. “I haven’t had my fill of you yet.”

“I won’t,” said Cat, pulling the tie of her robe tight around her waist. She stopped at the door and looked back at Kara, beautiful and bare in her bed, already dozing again. She bit her lip to keep from grinning, then stole down the stairs.

Making her way to the kitchen by way of the exam room, Cat snagged the bottle of wine Kara had brought as a gift and opened it to let it breathe. Then she pulled a platter out of one of the cupboards, assembling a variety of noshes for them to share. As she was rinsing a clutch of grapes, Cat glanced out the window over the sink only to see fat wet snowflakes drifting down from the sky, blanketing everything in sight, making everything new and soft again.

She caught herself smiling a little giddily until she remembered that Carter was still out in that weather. Then she heard the parlor door slam and Carter called, “Mom? Are you home yet?”

Cat sighed, angry with herself for not thinking any of this through. It was only eight-thirty and her twelve-year-old son was about to find her standing in her robe in the kitchen, putting together a snack for her and the lover still in her bed upstairs. There was no way to stop it from happening and nowhere to hide. She took a deep breath and braced herself.

If honesty had been good enough for Kara, perhaps it would work here, too.

“In here, Carter,” she called, and Carter raced into the kitchen, all smiles until he saw Cat in her robe.

“Are you okay?” he asked, frowning. Then he saw the wine and the platter of food. “Mom?”

“Before I explain - and I will,” she said, “how was your date with Daisy?”

Carter blushed and grinned at the same time, lighting up the whole room. “It was, like, so cool, Mom. Mr. Baalad let me buy Daisy’s popcorn and Coke just like I hoped he would and he said we should sit by ourselves wherever we wanted and meet him in the lobby when the movie was over.” He looked down at his feet, adding shyly, “I laughed every time she laughed, Mom. She even let me hold her hand.”

“You asked her first like we talked about?”

Carter nodded emphatically. “I did. Promise.”

Cat smiled a little tearfully and held her arms open for her son. He rushed into them and hugged her hard.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered, but Carter pulled back a little.

“What about your date with Kara?” he asked. “Is she… ?” He looked up at the ceiling then back at Cat.

Now it was Cat’s turn to blush. “She is,” she said, and a grin warred with her ‘serious parenting’ face, making her look confused and guilty. “I want you to know I didn’t plan this. We were at the restaurant and she was… We were…” She shook her head and looked away. “I wasn’t thinking. I should have asked you if it would be okay--”

Carter grasped his mother’s arms. “Mom, it’s okay! I really like Kara and if you really like her too--”

“I do,” said Cat and her grin finally broke through the other emotions muddling her features.

Carter grinned back at her. “If you’re happy and she’s happy, then I’m happy, Mom. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Cat reached out and tousled the always unruly mop of hair on his head. “Yes, I do,” she countered. “I’m your mother. That’s my job.”

“Well, then - I don’t know - take the night off or something!” he laughed. “I mean, yeah, you’re my mom, but you’re also a lot of other stuff, including a human being. You get to have a life too, okay? And if that means spending time with Kara, I’m good with that.”

Cat laughed a little watery laugh. “When did you get to be so grown up?” she asked, using the cuff of her sleeve to blot her eyes.

Carter rolled his eyes. “Moooom,” he whined. “Don’t.”

“Okay, okay,” said Cat, relenting. Then she hugged him again. “I love you. You know that, right?”

“I love you, too, Mom,” he said tolerantly, pushing himself gently out of her embrace. “And seriously, don’t worry about me, okay? I’m probably going to end up sleeping in the family room tonight anyway. Daisy, me, and some of the other guys were going to play Fortnite. I mean, since we’re off school, none of us have set bedtimes. We can stay up as late as we want.” He paused. “I’ll try to keep the noise down but you know how I am with my headset on,” he said, winking. “Can’t hear a thing.”

Cat gasped, then pinched Carter’s shoulder. “You are too precocious for your own good, young man,” she chastised. He laughed and pulled a bag of tortilla chips out of the pantry on his way to the family room, waving absently at her, already half consumed by the game he hadn’t even started yet.

Cat shook her head at him one last time, then returned upstairs, refreshments for Kara and herself in tow.

\---

“Is Carter home?” asked Kara, frowning. She’d turned on the light and was half-dressed again, ready to bolt. “I should go,” she said, getting up to search the room for the rest of her clothing.

“Please don’t,” said Cat. “Not unless you want to, I mean.” She lifted the tray and the wine bottle. “You’re welcome to stay.”

“Are you sure?” asked Kara. She sat back down on the edge of the bed, her eyes a worried, washed-out blue. “Is he? Does he know about…?” She looked at the rumpled bedclothes and blushed.

“He does and he is,” Cat assured her. She set the wine and the food on her dresser and crossed to sit on the bed next to Kara. “We had a brief but enlightening discussion. He said he’s happy as long as we are.” She smiled at the younger woman. “He likes you a lot.”

Kara smiled back. “I like him a lot, too. He reminds me a little of me when I was that age - though he’s much braver than I ever was. And more popular.”

“He had a good night tonight. He and Daisy even held hands.”

Kara grinned. “Did they?” she asked. Then, more quietly, “Will you hold mine?”

Cat laced their fingers together without the slightest hesitation and they sat there for a long moment, pressed side to side on the edge of Cat’s bed, warmth building between their bodies in a way that both enticed and grounded them.

“You asked me the other night what I was looking for in a relationship,” said Cat. “I didn’t answer you properly then. I want to now, but before I do, may I ask you the same thing?” She felt her hand tremble in Kara’s and covered both of them with her free one, trying to keep everything still.

Kara looked out at the snow falling for a long moment wondering how to explain the sun-drenched hollow in her chest and what it meant. 

“I’ve had four lovers in my whole life,” she said finally. “The first was a woman I met in Paris. Mathilde.” The way Kara breathed the name, as if hesitant to put sound to it, told Cat much. “She called me ‘Ganache.’ She said it was because I was sweet like chocolate and innocent like cream but I think she didn’t like the hardness of my name. Too German, perhaps. I don’t know.” She scoffed but there was no mirth in it.

“We made love every night for a week,” continued Kara, and Cat heard pain scuttle like some dark creature back into her voice. “...and drank bitter black coffee every morning. Drunks weaving their way home from the pubs danced with us in the moonlight while she sang to me. Then she kissed me goodbye in the flower market one morning after giving me a single perfect tulip. She never looked back.” Tears glittered like frost on Kara’s lashes. “I promised myself I would never give my heart away that easily ever again and I haven’t…” She turned back to look deeply into Cat’s eyes. “...until now.”

Cat began to speak, but Kara stopped her with a kiss.

“I ask for nothing you’re unwilling to give, Catherine Grant,” she said when she pulled away. “I don’t want to cage you. You should be as free as your heart wishes to be.” Kara looked down at their entwined hands. “But whatever we may have together - if that’s even something you want to explore - I want you to know it won’t be casual to me.”

“Carter is a part of this, too,” said Cat. “Before we start anything, I have to know that’s something you understand.”

Whether Cat meant to evoke them or not, Kara heard the echoes of her own childhood in that plea. Benevolently unwanted was still unwanted and grudging acceptance was still grudging, no matter what stories families told each other to blunt the sting of rejection.

“No child could ever be an inconvenience to me, Cat,” she promised. “Least of all, a child of yours.” She squeezed Cat’s hand a little tighter. “Complexity doesn’t frighten me. Neither does commitment.”

“What does frighten you?” asked Cat gently.

“Living a life unshared,” she said. “My parents had that, no matter how briefly. Jann had it, whether he recognized it or not.” Kara leaned into Cat and nuzzled her cheek. “I want it, too.”

Cat’s breath caught, but then she melted into Kara, stealing kisses from her in sips, intoxicated by them, wanting more.

“How is this possible?" she asked. "I feel like I've known you all my life..." 

Kara cupped Cat’s cheeks in her hands. “Has there ever been a person in the whole of the world who did not recognize her home the instant she walked into it?” When Cat shook her head no, Kara smiled. “And so it was with me when you took me into your beautiful, important kitchen the other night.”

“You knew then?” asked Cat, reeling.

“No,” said Kara. “But I belonged.” She shrugged. “That’s how it always begins.”

_fin_


End file.
